WORCESTER — Going into the Worcester Best Chef Competition Sunday night at Mechanics Hall, Volturno chef Neil Rogers said he was confident.

A little chicken, mince, palmetto and yogurt later, and his coconut curry roast chicken and salad and his skills matched his confidence, making him this year's top chef in the city.

"I feel awesome," he said after accepting the award. "It's a pretty great feeling."

Mr. Rogers, who has been a chef for 18 years but only returned to the city last year, was selected from among 36 chefs representing restaurants from around the city. He was also a winner of the Chef's Choice Award and was chosen as a finalist for the top honor along with Matt Dion of Rovezzi's Restaurant and Damian Evangelous of Armsby Abbey. The three competed for the championship in a cook-off in which the the only requirement was they use chicken, mince, palmetto and yogurt.

While they were cooking on the stage, the audience, who had spent the evening sampling the many unusual dishes offered by the competing restaurants, cast their ballots for the People's Choice Award. It went to chef Rafael Guzman Cruz of Two Chefs Restaurant and Pastry. Mr. Damon of Rovezzi's took second place in the public voting, and third went to Cathy Young of Evo Dining.

Sue Zack, who has a family connection to Evo Dining, said the Top Chef event was a great opportunity to showcase the many restaurants in Worcester.

"It's wonderful to see the amount of talent found in Worcester at these restaurants," she said.

Ms. Zack said it shows people of the region do not have to go to Boston or Providence to find quality restaurants.

"And it is not always the big expensive restaurants," she said.

Some of the food offered at the booths was created just for the event, but some was a taste of what diners can find at the restaurants.

William Nemeroff of Ceres Restaurant offered Uruguayan grass-fed prime rib with pickled shrimp at his booth. He said the restaurant specializes in Uruguayan beef.

Diners had seafood, beef and pasta dishes and many other delicacies as well as a host of desserts to taste during the evening. They also got a chance to sample beers, wines and Gosling Rum mixed with Gosling Ginger Beer, which is marketed by Polar Beverages. At the event was a man dressed in 18th-century garb who said he was Ambrose Gosling of Bermuda.

Jan Bursell of Oxford and Anita Rupich of Framingham said they could not decide what they liked the best.

"It's all good," Ms. Bursell said. "The food is amazing. Some of it was simple but others were very complicated."

"There was such a good variety," added Ms. Rupich.

The two women said they were getting a second wind and thinking of heading back into the hall to sample tastes from a few more restaurants before the competition ended.

The competition is held to raise money for the Worcester Technical High School culinary arts program and Veterans Inc.'s efforts to feed veterans in need.

The total earned Sunday night has not been tallied, but over several years, Worcester's Best Chef Competition has raised more than $25,000.